Explorer
by saika-army
Summary: Castelia City was better than Hilbert had expected. (Minus the clown, of course.)


**Explorer**

* * *

{ He was Hilbert, a boy with dreams of becoming a Champion.

He was Hilbert, a boy having fun on his Pokémon journey.

He was Hilbert, a boy with a big heart.

He was Hilbert, a boy who couldn't imagine meeting anyone who could change him. }

* * *

Hilbert brushed the dirt off of his blue jacket and adjusted the collar before exiting the Pokémon Center. He had endless plans for his stay in Castelia; after defeating Burgh and obtaining the Insect Badge, he felt like he could do practically anything now. The hard stuff was out of the way—it was time for the real fun to start. There were buildings to lurk in, parks and ports to see, and good food to eat.

The ports on the south side of the city were calling his name, so Hilbert figured that he should probably check it out first. On the far right port, he was met with the sight of a clown twirling and stopping right in front of him.

"Hello there, young man!" Exclaimed the clown. "Say, you're a Pokemon Trainer, no?"

"Yes, yes I am," Hilbert replied politely.

"Well I'll be! Who'd you choose as your starter from Professor Juniper?" Said the clown, putting his hand on Hilbert's shoulder.

"Oshawott," Hilbert replied. _'This guy is weird... why is he touching my shoulder again?'_

"You probably got a Pansear from someone in the Dreamyard, yes?"

Hilbert figured that most of the trainers that took his route probably got the same Pokémon as him. If not everyone got a Monkey Pokémon from that lady in Dreamyard, then he would deem the clown as a stalker. (They're everywhere, those clowns. Walk 10 feet into a route and you've probably already seen 2 clowns. In Castelia City, clowns were practically present _everywhere_.) Taking the clown's hand off of his shoulder awkwardly, he said, "Yeah... what about it?"

The clown reached into his pocket and took out a red, sparkling stone. The glint reflecting off of the stone flashed brightly into Hilbert eyes, and he quickly covered his pupils.

"Here you go, young man! A fresh Fire Stone for your Pansear!" The clown put the stone in Hilbert's hand, patting the boy's back in the process.

_'This is... kind of odd,'_ Hilbert thought. But he politely accepted the Fire Stone and proceeded to stuff it into the depths of his bag. He would wait a little bit before using it on Pansear, though. "Thank you very much." He tipped his hat and scurried off to the other ports.

"You're very welcome!" Hummed the clown, twirling off to another trainer he had spotted.

* * *

Hilbert found that the other ports contained ferries that went off to different places, such as Liberty Garden. Thinking of going to Liberty Garden, he found out from others that there was a rare Pokémon there. Victini, he thinks he remembers someone mention. To Hilbert's dismay, he found out that a Liberty Pass was needed, and Arceus knows where he would actually get that. He should've asked the captain about that detail.

Hilbert continued through the alleys and main streets of the city, pushing through the hundreds of people in business suits going in every which way. He passed by the Casteliacone stand, only to find out that the icy sweet treat was only sold on Tuesday. Luckily, it was Monday, so he could come back tomorrow. Pouting just a little, Hilbert continued to the other places.

The other roads didn't contain much that interested him, considering that the towering buildings only had about five floors that he could see. People passing by mentioned that there were Trainers on some floors, but Hilbert passed on the opportunity. His gym battle was yesterday, after all. Hilbert figured he's done enough battling for a week.

On one of the alleys, he found a dainty little café. Seeing that it was almost lunchtime, he decided that maybe he should grab a bite to eat. Upon entering the café, he saw display shelves that carried some of his favorite foods-mostly sweets, because he had to admit that he's always had a little bit of a sweet tooth. To indulge himself, he ordered a soup-and-sandwich combination, along with a slice of pecan pie and some flan.

"This is my treat for winning against Burgh," Hilbert boasted, scarfing his food in a matter of minutes.

"You sure have quite an appetite," remarked a female voice.

Hilbert stopped chewing and looked up, seeing a girl about his age. She looked like a trainer as well.

"Oh, excuse me for barging in," she chuckled. Extending a hand, she introduced herself. "The name's Hilda. Yours?"

Setting down his fork, Hilbert shook the hand and replied, "I'm Hilbert."

Pulling out the chair across from him, Hilda asked, "Do you mind if I sit here?"

Hilbert froze for a second before snapping back to reality and nodding. She sat down, folded her arms. It took Hilbert a while to register that the girl who just across from him was downright cute. Flowy chocolate hair with sideburns that were long pulled up into a poofy ponytail, with a white and pink hat to top it off. Her attire was a simple white tee with a black vest and denim shorts to match.

Hilda decided to speak up, since she noticed that Hilbert was practically frozen. "So, do you challenge gyms?"

He shook himself out of his trance, and promptly nodded to answer her question. "I've got three badges. I just defeated Burgh yesterday."

There was a glint in her eyes, saying, "Cool! I have three badges too. But I defeated Burgh last week, aha."

"Oh, are you just lingering in Castelia, then?" He asked before taking a slurp of his soup.

"Yep. Since I arrived here on a Wednesday, I figured I'd wait a little to try out one of those Casteliacones this city is famous for. It seem worth the wait, from what I've heard..."

"Ah, I've been wanting to try the Casteliacones too. Luckily, it's Tuesday tomorrow!" He beamed, taking a bite of his sandwich.

Hilda chuckled. "You'll have to go early, though. I hear those sell out by noon!"

"Seriously? That early? The shop opens at eleven!" Hilbert nearly choked on his sandwich from shock.

She cocked her head to the side and shrugged. "It must be tasty, then. And it's summer, to add to it."

"Well, since it's Tuesday tomorrow, do you want to get some Casteliacones with me tomorrow?" he asked nervously, and nearly bit on his tongue because he felt like he sounded pretentious.

"Sure, why not?" Hilda shrugged. He sighed a sigh of relief (which she hadn't heard, to Hilbert's luck), and took a bite out of his flan. She stood up, looking at her CrossTransceiver. "Ah, it's one-thirty. I should get going."

Chewed up flan in his mouth, Hilbert said, "Oh, goodbye, Hilda!"

"Ew, gross. Close your mouth," she retorted, scrunching her face in disgust. "Anyway, see you tomorrow, Hilbert."

"Yeah. I'll meet you at the stand." He waved.

Before leaving, Hilda took one of Hilbert's napkins, taking out a pen. While she was scribbling, Hilbert asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm writing down my CrossTransceiver number, duh," she blurted.

"Of course..." Hilbert started to blush. (And mentally slapped himself too.)

"Here," she said, handing him the napkin. With a two finger salute, she said her salutations and exited the café.

"I guess it's a date," Hilbert muttered before asking a waitress for a carry-out box for his pecan pie. Sitting back down at his seat, Hilbert's mind started to go off on its own path.

_'Hilda isn't all that bad. __She was cute, with the dark hair in a ponytail. Not to mention easy to talk to.' _Giving himself a weird look, he shook his head. '_Oh god, Hilbert. What are you thinking? You just met her...'_

Walking out of the restaurant with Hilda's number in one hand and the pecan pie in the other, he smiled to himself, a slight blush creeping on his neck. Adjusting his hat, he walked off to explore the streets of Castelia City, stuffing the napkin in his bag for safekeeping.

* * *

{ He was Hilbert, a boy with big aspirations.

He was Hilbert, a boy with three badges in his case.

He was Hilbert, a boy who met a girl.

He was Hilbert, a boy who fell in love at first sight. }

* * *

**A/N: Yeah yeah yeah! I'm debating on making this a multi-chap fic, but I kinda like how it stands. /shrugs**

**It's probably OOC and a little rushed, so my deepest apologies. I had to write a little something about these two. They're just plain adorable.**

**(I don't own Pokemon.)**


End file.
